Cameron Satterwhite, a 6-foot-4 junior guard at Gilbert (Ariz.) Christian High School in suburban Phoenix, has become Colorado’s second men’s basketball oral commitment for the 2016 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.

Satterwhite is averaging about 18 points, five rebounds and three assists this season, according to the recruiting-based website.

While Satterwhite’s current offer list is not overly impressive, with Rice perhaps being his best other offer, Satterwhite said CU coach Tad Boyle and the Buffaloes staff are impressed with his potential.

“Coach Boyle told me he likes my length, the way I am in transition,” Satterwhite told BuffStampede.com of the Rivals network. “He also thinks I am not done growing yet.”

For the 2015-16 recruiting cycle, Colorado previously received an oral commitment from another 6-4 guard, Deleon Brown of Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian. Brown is a senior but is expected to attend a year of prep school to become more physically ready for basketball at the college level.

Satterwhite and Brown can sign a national letter of intent with Colorado in November, 2015.

Here’s a list of 2015 and 2016 University of Denver hockey recruits. The five 2015 guys deserve more mention, more information, and I hope to add that in the next week.

Dylan Gambrell, F, Bonney Lake, Wash.
— Played for Angelo Ricci and the Colorado Thunderbirds, now with Dubuque of USHL. Member of USA’s World Junior A Challenge Team that won gold in the fall, and played in USHL Top Prospects Game. Committed to DU and scheduled to sign this spring.

Blake Hillman, D, Elk River, Minn.
— Playing his second year at Dubuque of USHL and joined Gabrell at USHL Top Prospects Game. Committed to DU and scheduled to sign this pring.

Logan O’Connor, F, Calgary, Alberta
— Captain of Sioux Falls of the USHL, his second year there. Pegged as a very good four-year player. Signed his NLI with DU last fall.

Jarid Lukosevicius, F, Squamish, B.C.
— In his second year with the Powell River Kings of BCHL, currently third among league scorers. Signed his NLI with DU last fall.

Troy Terry, F, Highlands Ranch
— Played for Angelo Ricci’s U16 Colorado Thunderbirds and now with the USNDP, doing very well. On track to accelerate and join DU this fall.

BOULDER — Minutes after Colorado’s fourth consecutive loss Thursday night, Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said he was not about to hang his head.

And he didn’t want his team to do that either.

“Our guys can’t let this get them down,” Boyle said.

Colorado (9-9, 2-4 Pac-12) lost a “heart breaker,” as Boyle put it, when Washington junior guard Andrew Andrews bagged a 15-foot jump shot in the final second for a 52-50 Huskies victory in front of 9,653 at the Coors Events Center.

The winning play was set up after Colorado sophomore guard Jaron Hopkins lost control of the ball and committed a turnover near the basket with 34 seconds remaining.

Colorado, which was expected to be a contender this season in the Pac-12 standings, once again couldn’t play with a full deck. Junior center Josh Scott (back spasms) missed his third consecutive game, and junior forward Xavier Johnson was serving a one-game suspension by the team for an off-court issue after having missed the two prior games with an ankle sprain.

Making matters worse Thursday night, the team’s top scorer and other member of CU’s “big three,” senior guard Askia Booker, sat out 11 minutes of the first half with foul trouble and never found a rhythm. He hit just 2-of-13 from the field and finished with five points, almost a dozen below his season average.

Boyle said his players were were both sad and angry in the locker room following the game. But he told them they also should view it as a positive, considering they had a chance to defeat a talented Huskies squad (14-4, 3-3) while being shorthanded.

“We didn’t take care of the ball well enough (12 turnovers against Washington’s 2-3 zone) and we didn’t shoot well enough (31.7 percent) to beat that team,” Boyle said. “But I liked our guy’s fight. I liked our effort.

“We have to bear defeat without losing heart,” Boyle added. “That’s what this group is being tested with. We’re being tested. Our toughness is being tested. Our mental fortitude is being tested. We have to come tomorrow and practice and continue to improve.”

Colorado hosts Washington State at 6 p.m. Saturday.

CU’s top four scorers Thursday night are all sophomores, led by Hopkins (11 points) and forward Wesley Gordon, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and a career-best 17 rebounds.

“I think you’re seeing some guys grow up and get some experience,” Boyle said. “That’s going to help us in the long run. But in the short run, it’s no fun.”

Colorado has reached the NCAA Tournament three consecutive years so being .500 at this stage is not what anybody envisioned. Boyle said his team is handling the adversity as well as could be expected.

“You see how they’re playing; there’s no quit in them,” Boyle said. “We’re just coming up a little bit short. We’re a little snakebit right now. We have to learn and we have to improve. That’s what we have to focus on.”

BOULDER — Following a lengthy practice Tuesday, Colorado senior guard Askia Booker said Buffs players continue to be excited about playing and remain optimistic despite the team’s 9-8 record.

“Nobody has given up,” Booker said. “Everybody’s head is still up.”

Colorado, missing starting frontcourt stalwarts Josh Scott (back spasms) and Xavier Johnson (ankle), has lost three straight Pac-12 games and sits at 2-3 in league play.

Under coach Tad Boyle, the Buffs have reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. Plenty of the season remains, but it will be an uphill battle for Colorado to once again participate in March Madness.

“Coach Boyle has been very encouraging,” Booker said. “He hasn’t kept his head down. He hasn’t talked down to the team.

“He’s trying to be uplifting to everybody.”

Boyle has met privately with individual players, Booker said.

“He’s given them confidence boosters,” Booker said.

Colorado hosts Washington (13-4, 2-3) on Thursday night and then Washington State on Saturday night.

Scott’s availability continues to be listed as day-to-day. Johnson won’t play Thursday night because of a one-game suspension levied by Boyle for an off-court issue. Johnson’s availability for Saturday night’s game is unknown because of his injury situation.

Colorado State has designated its Saturday night men’s basketball game against San Diego State as CSU’s fifth-annual “White Out” game at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.

Spectators are encouraged to wear white for the 8 p.m. Mountain West Conference battle.

Although neither Colorado State (17-2, 4-2 Mountain West) nor San State (14-4, 4-1) is ranked in the two major top-25 polls, but received the most votes among the league’s teams.

If the polls were extended, San Diego State would be ranked the equivalent of 26th in USA Today coaches poll and No. 28 in the Associated Press media poll. CSU would be 29th by the coaches and No. 33 by the media.

Wyoming (16-3, 5-1) tops the Mountain West standings but received fewer votes in this week’s polls.

Wyoming and CSU do not have midweek games this week. San Diego State plays Tuesday night at Air Force. Wyoming hosts New Mexico on Saturday.

Greg Ploetz completed this painting in 2010, when he already was suffering dementia symptoms.

My commentary in the Tuesday paper and online here is an update on former Texas defensive tackle Greg Ploetz, 65, who is battling with dementia and frontal brain lobe damage and spent several months in Colorado last year so marijuana products could be used in his treatment. With concussions and brain injuries, including CTE, such a major part of the football discussion these days, Ploetz’s situation is another reminder of the potential toll of the game. (Yes, I’m taking a leap of faith there and believe it eventually will be confirmed that this almost certainly was caused by football.)

I mentioned near the end that the Billy Dale, a halfback in Ploetz’s era, is trying to gather autographs of former Longhorns who played for Darrell Royal on (or, more accurately around) the football painting Greg finished in 2010, when dementia already was taking a toll and he already was very ill. Then the painting will be auctioned at an event later this year for the Darrell K. Royal Fund for Alzheimer’s Research. Read more…

Colorado State’s Rashard Higgins makes a catch in the final seconds between Utah State’s Frankie Sutera, left, and Jalen Davis during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, in Fort Collins. Colorado State won 16-13. (Erin Hull, The Coloradoan)

No, but the Mountain West Conference is bringing a younger lookalike of the legendary comedian into the league office in Colorado Springs

Greg Burks, who drew second glances for his resemblance to Bob Newhart while serving Monday night as head referee for the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game between Ohio State and Oregon in Arlington, Texas, was named by the Mountain West this week as the league’s coordinator of football officials.

Burks has three decades of experiences as an on-field football official. He has been working games for the Big 12, Mountain West and Southland conferences.

A native of Colorado Springs, Burks is a University of Colorado-Boulder graduate.

Newhart played along with the mention of Burks being his lookalike and tweeted:

“In regards to my new career as head ref for #OSUvsORE — Hey, I don’t have a series anymore — I had to do something”

With 17:34 left in the second half of Saturday’s Colorado State-Air Force game in Colorado Springs, a loose ball off a missed three by CSU’s John Gillon sparked a brawl, complete with a headlock, a punch, three technical fouls and an ejection.

CSU forward J.J. Avila went over the back of Air Force’s Zach Kocur for the rebound when both players went to the floor. That led to Matt Mooney punching Avila in the back, multiple players engaging in a pushing battle, refs ejecting Mooney and handing out techs to Avila and fellow CSU forward Tiel Daniels, and the game being delayed 17 minutes as officials sorted it all out.

Terry Fair was hired as Colorado State’s cornerbacks coach, the school announced Wednesday.

Fair spent the last two seasons on the University of Tennessee’s defensive coaching staff.

“Terry Fair is a rising star in the coaching profession, and is a tremendous addition to our program,” CSU head coach Mike Bobo said in a release. “He was a great player at Tennessee, and in the NFL, and is hungry to teach and mold young men as a coach and mentor.”

Fair was drafted the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft by Detroit. He played six years in the NFL with the Lions, Carolina and St. Louis.

Colorado’s Jamee Swan drives past Ruth Hamblin of OSU during the second half of a game on Feb 20, 2015, in Boulder. (Cliff Grassmick, Daily Camera)

Prior to Sunday’s Pac-12 Colorado women’s basketball game against UCLA in Boulder, CU will celebrate the annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day with events for children in the Coors Events Center.

Activities, which are free, begin at noon with a variety of skills and fitness stations for girls 8th grade and under and boys 6th grade and under.

The skills and fitness stations will be run by members of the CU women’s basketball program.

From thefirst NCAA hoops title matchup between Oregon and Ohio State. Oregon’s John Dick (18), the game’s leading scorer, defends a Buckeye at the hoop. Other Webfoots are Hall of Famer Laddie Gale (28) and captain Bobby Anet, right. (AP Photo.)

My commentary on the weird coincidence of Oregon vs. Ohio State being the inaugural title game matchup in both the College Football Playoff and the NCAA basketball tournament — 76 years apart — is in the Monday paper and here.

I included snippets of information on that first hoops tournament, title game and championship Oregon team that I went into great detail about in my 2014 book, March 1939: Before the Madness. It starts to answer the question I often was asked when I brought up the coincidence virtually the instant the matchup was assured: How’d you know that?

I knew it not only because I wrote a book on it, but because I was raised around Oregon sports, and the men of the 1939 Webfoots basketball team (aka, The Tall Firs) were legendary. Five members of the squad, including both starting guards, hailed from the Oregon fishing town of Astoria, where the Columbia River runs into the Pacific Ocean. The biggest star, future Hall of Famer Laddie Gale, was from tiny Oakridge, Oregon. The leading scorer in the first title game, junior forward John Dick, was from The Dalles, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge, and starting center Slim Wintermute was from Longview, in southwest Washington. Dick became a Naval flyer in World War II, then remained in the service, switching to ship duty and becoming captain of the supercarrier USS Saratoga and retiring as a rear admiral.

Belatedly — yes, I should have done it sooner, perhaps when I was working at the Oregonian — I got around to writing about them as the cornerstones of my seventh book, which also dealt with the national invitation tournament and the entire college basketball season playing out against the backdrop of increased international tensions that would lead to the outbreak of World War II.

That version of the column does not include the information that this was even more eerie for me because I had attended the Oregon spring game and renewed ties in early May because my father, Jerry, an Oregon assistant for 12 seasons and the head coach for five, was honored that weekend.

An office in the new Hatfield-Dowlin football complex was named after him, and at the spring game, he was saluted as part of “Military Appreciation Day” because of his P-38 fighter pilot service during World War II. His 67 missions over Japanese targets in the one-man plane came in the three-year break between his sophomore and junior football seasons as a Wisconsin guard.

That information never was included in his coaching biography and his players were shocked to hear about it for the first time, mostly after his 2001 death.

That’s just the way those Greatest Generation guys were.

Former Oregon head coach Jerry Frei in his P-38 fighter pilot gear, shown on the Autzen Stadium scoreboard as part of a tribute at the 2014 spring game

It was hard to tell much from the spring game, of course, but Marcus Mariota’s poised demeanor was striking and Oregon officials were gracious hosts for our family at various events. Also, when Oregon officials showed a sequence of pictures of my father on the scoreboard, including of him in pilot gear and in the cramped P-38 cockpit, and public-address announcer Don Essig narrated from the script, I noticed that many of the Oregon players watched — and clapped.

Among those I enjoyed talking with that weekend were Oregon assistants Steve Greatwood, the Ducks’ long-time offensive line coach, and Matt Lubick; many of my father’s former assistants and players, and one of my father’s successors, Rich Brooks. I also enjoyed doing a signing for March 1939 at the Oregon Bookstore’s Autzen Stadium branch after the spring game.

So I’ve been following the Ducks with heightened interest this season, watching as they recovered from the regular-season loss to Arizona and routed the Wildcats in the Pac-12 championship game and then romped past Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal.

And I admit I was astounded when they ended up matched up against the Buckeyes again … in a different first title game.

A kicker tidbit: Colorado, which had played in the first national invitation tournament in 1938 with Whizzer White as a solid contributor, and lost to Temple 60-36 in the title game at Madison Square Garden, turned down an invitation to the first NCAA tournament. The Buffs won the Big 7 Conference, which also included Colorado A&M/State. CU would have had a two-week layoff between the end of the regular season and the regional. Here’s a passage from March 1939:

CU officials announced that they would conduct a vote among
the players and take the result under advisement. With the Buffaloes’
season over and no league playoffs, Colorado’s players knew
they would have two weeks to rest up for the regional—or, to put
it another way, their season would be extended at least two weeks
if they accepted the bid. These were mostly the same fellows who
the previous year had traveled by train cross-country to play in the
first national invitation tournament, and then made another trip to
New York in December. Would they be up for more travel, first to
San Francisco, then possibly to Chicago? For a new tournament?

The Buffaloes’ decision was announced Tuesday.

No, thanks.

Colorado’s athletic committee said that it had consulted with
Coach Frosty Cox and the players, and the decision was based on
the fact that the Buffaloes were banged up, tired, and even sick.
CU’s star center, Jack Harvey, was hospitalized three times during
the season and missed the final three games because of illness, and
two other starters had spent time in the hospital, also. Without
naming the national invitation tournament, the committee said CU
wouldn’t consider taking part in any other tournament, either. The
Buffaloes were going to stay home.

So CU passed on a chance to make history. The district selection committee chose Big 7 runnerup Utah State to represent the Rocky Mountain region in the four-team West regional at San Francisco, and the Aggies fell to Oklahoma 50-39.

In the locker room after the title game, Oregon guards Wally Johansen — who were raised across the street from each other in Astoria, Oregon — and star forward Laddie Gale. Anet is holding the broken championship trophy.

Utah’s Delon Wright (55) shoots as Colorado’s Wesley Gordon (1) defends in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on March 1, 2014, in Salt Lake City. Utah won 75-64. (Rick Bowmer, The Associated Press)

“If ever a team need a win, the Colorado Buffaloes need a win tonight,” Boyle said after a 62-56 victory over UCLA in the Coors Events Center to open Pac-12 play.

The Buffs (8-5, 1-0 Pac-12) were coming off consecutive losses to George Washington and host Hawaii in the islands and were struggling to find an identity. On this night, with CU’s best player, 6-10 Josh Scott, sidelined with back spasms, Colorado finally showed the grit and determination for 40 minutes that had been missing during much of the nonconference schedule.

“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise,” Boyle said of Scott’s absence. “I thought we showed toughness and resiliency tonight. To do this without Josh Scott is really encouraging.”

It wasn’t a pretty game. Colorado shot 37.5 percent from the field, UCLA hit just 31.4 percent. But the Buffs finally played well down the stretch after having lost those both of those games in Hawaii by 3 points.

Senior guard Askia Booker scored 20 points and made key free throws in the closing minutes. Junior forward Xavier Johnson totaled 14 points, including seven during an 11-0 run that in the second half that seemed to take a lot out of the Bruins.

“Xavier wanted the ball, he demanded the ball,” Boyle said.

Another positive sign for Boyle: His team didn’t let an off shooting night affect its defense and baseline-to-baseline tenacity. With CU sophomore Jaron Hopkins on UCLA sophomore sharpshooter Bryce Alford for much of the night, the coach’s son went two-for-16 from the floor.

“He was getting hounded pretty good,” Bruins coach Steve Alford said.

Boyle learned 40 minutes before tipoff that Scott was unavailable. He said the availability of the standout post player is “day to day.”

“We’ve had high energy before but this was the first time I’ve seen it pretty much for 40 minutes,” Boyle said.

He will be looking for a similar effort Sunday — with or without Scott — when the Buffs host Southern California at noon.

Garrett Grayson and 15 other seniors will be honored Saturday at CSU-New Mexico game (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

For the second consecutive year, Colorado State will be represented at the NFL Combine with multiple participants.

CSU announced that quarterback Garrett Grayson and offensive lineman Ty Sambrailo were invited to the February 17-23 combine in Indianapolis, Ind.

Last February, CSU was represented at the NFL Combine by center Weston Richburg, tight end Crockett Gillmore and running back Kapri Bibbs.

Grayson earned 2014 offensive player of the year honors for the Mountain West Conference after breaking his CSU single-season records for passing yards (4,006) and passing touchdowns (32).

A left tackle protecting Grayson’s blind side, Sambrailo missed two games because of injury this season but graded at least 90 percent in each of the other 11. The Californian was credited with more than 65 knockdown blocks, according to CSU.

A native of the Vancouver, Wash., area, Grayson has accepted invitations to play in the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. Sambrailo will play in the Senior Bowl.

Quarterback Mike Bobo, pictured in October 1997 in a game against Kentucky, has agreed in principle to be Colorado State’s next head coach. (Andy Lyons, Getty Images)

As the Post’s Terry Frei reported Monday afternoon, the Colorado State Rams have reached an agreement in principle with Mike Bobo, Georgia’s offensive coordinator, to be their new head coach. Bobo, 40, would take over a program that Jim McElwain guided to a 10-2 record and a spot among the top 25 in both the AP and USA TODAY coaches’ polls numerous times throughout last season.

A Georgia native, Bobo was a quarterback for the Bulldogs from 1994-97, and ranks among their most prolific passers of all time. He is No. 3 among Bulldog QBs in passing efficiency rating in a season (155.80 in 1997) and tops in completion percentage in a season (65.03 percent, 1997). He also ranks No. 5 in career touchdown passes (38) and still holds the school record for most consecutive completions to start a game (19), which he achieved in the 1998 Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

And before all that, he was a star at Thomasville High, where he was named the state’s high school player of the year in 1993 and. Check him out in 1992, when Thomasville faced the Peach County Trojans in the 3A state quarterfinals (he’s No. 14).

LAS VEGAS — With Utah leading Colorado State 24-10 at the half of the Las Vegas Bowl, the game has a bit of a familiar feel.

Although the Rams have hung in and played better defensively in the second quarter, this is a lot like their 37-24 loss at Boise State in the second game of the season — the loss that came before they ran off nine wins in a row before falling to Air Force in the regular-season finale.

CSU looked physically overmatched for much of that game, and so far, this is a reprise of that night in Boise.

They haven’t been able to mount much of a running attack, with Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells alternating. Officially, CSU has 13 yards on 11 rushes, with one sack of Garrett Grayson figuring into that.

Grayson hasn’t had a lot of time to let routes develop, so it’s more than the sack.

At least initially, Utah had little trouble moving the ball, and the Utes have 327 yards of total offense in the first half.

The good news for the Rams is that this could have been a lot worse. Andy Phillips missed a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the half. Otherwise, it would be 27-10.

LAS VEGAS — As I start typing, we’re about 90 minutes from kickoff at the Las Vegas Bowl.

I’ve mentioned this several times the last few weeks, but one of the charms of the bowl season is its unpredictability, especially when nothing major is at stake in individual games.

Often, one team looks as if it isn’t into it. It’s not so much that they don’t want to be there, but are treating the game as an anticlimax rather than a chance to additionally establish credibility and finish the season on an upbeat note. Read more…

The Colorado State Rams are wearing some new uniforms in the Las Vegas Bowl as they take on the Utah Utes. The new look Rams will be wearing all white with the orange bone helmets.

The “A” on the shoulder pads stands for Aggies. Before CSU were called the Rams they were called the Aggies. The Aggies adopted the bighorn ram as the official mascot in 1946. The mascots name Cam stands for Colorado A&M. After the school became Colorado State University the nickname was changed to the Rams from the Aggies.

LAS VEGAS — On the eve of the Las Vegas Bowl, Colorado State announced it had received signed financial aid agreements — which is more than the infamous alleged verbal commitment that isn’t a commitment at all — from tackle Colby Meeks from Dr. Phillips High in Orlando and from Vanderbilt tight end Mitch Parsons, formerly of Chaparral High School.

It had been known for a long time that the 6-foot-3, 302-pound Meeks, who comes from the same high school that produced junior transfer Dee Hart, freshman wide receiver Deionte Gaines and freshman punter Ricky Buckner, intended to attend CSU. But this was a next step and it also was significant because Jim McElwain, who has had recruiting ties to Dr. Phillips since his time at Alabama, no longer is with the Rams and the announcement — perhaps pointedly — officially was made by interim coach Dave Baldwin. And Baldwin spoke as if he still will be with the Rams. Read more…

University of Colorado’s Dominique Collier takes a shot over a swarm of defenders during an NCAA basketball game against San Francisco on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the Coors Event Center in Boulder. (Jeremy Papasso, Daily Camera)

BOULDER — Colorado freshman point guard Dominique Collier couldn’t be more eager to get back on the court.

Collier, who earned legendary status as a four-year starter at Denver East High School, has missed the past two games after spraining a wrist while taking a charge during the Dec. 7 loss at Georgia.

Collier said he has been cleared to play in next week’s Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Buffs (6-3) will open the three-game tournament with a Monday game against DePaul.

“I think I should be fine for Hawaii,” Collier said prior to the team’s departure Friday for the islands.

Wearing a wrist brace, Collier participated fully in CU’s Thursday practice. Prior to that he had not been cleared for all drills.

Collier was slowed early in the season after suffering a sprained ankle in an October practice.

He has played in only five of Colorado’s nine games and is averaging four points.

“It’s just been frustrating,” Collier said. “I just love to play basketball. So just sitting and watching has been frustrating.”

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.